International relations - postal sector

That is why the BIPT has established relations with various organisations.

European Union

The BIPT follows and actively participates in the Postal Directive Committee (PDC), set up by virtue of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ERGP

Now that the postal markets have been liberalised throughout Europe, a stronger collaboration between independent national regulatory bodies is becoming increasingly important. In order to specify best practices at regulatory level, the European Regulators Group for Post (ERGP) becomes an integral part of an internal postal market and the moving force to ensure that the European citizen is offered an actual choice, resulting from a competitive market. This will also have a positive impact on innovation within the fast-evolving postal sector. The ERGP shall contribute to a consistent implementation of the regulatory framework for the postal services in collaboration with the EC and the regulatory bodies within the ERGP. This European collaboration does pay sufficient attention to the specific national conditions of the BIPT and the Belgian markets.

The ERGP’s 2020-2022 Medium-Term Strategy is developed around three pillars, namely:

Revisiting the postal sector

Promoting a competitive EU postal single market

Empowering end-users and ensuring a user-oriented universal service.

CERP

The CERP (European Committee for Postal Regulation) is part of the CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations). The CERP is composed of representatives of the bodies for postal regulation of the member countries of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), i.e. a total of 46 countries.

The CERP co-ordinates the UPU activities from a European point of view on the one hand and reflects on the postal regulatory framework on the other.

UPU

The Universal Postal Union (the UPU), with its headquarters in Bern (Switzerland), was founded in 1874. As of 1948 it has the status of a UN specialised agency. Today it has 192 members.

The 1874 treaty of Bern requires all contracting parties of the Acts of the UPU to guarantee, according to the principle of reciprocity, the exchange of letter-post items in accordance with the freedom of transit, and to treat without distinction postal items coming from other territories and transiting through their country as their own postal items.

The Universal Postal Union’s added value was the creation of a single multilateral agreement which ensured uniform rules for the delivery of international mail.

The UPU is built around four axes.

The Universal Postal Congress

The Universal Postal Congress is the supreme authority of the UPU. It is held every four years and brings together plenipotentiaries of all member countries. The 27th Congress shall take place in the Ivory Coast’s capital, Abidjan, in August 2020.

The main tasks of the Congress are of a legislative and strategic nature. It elects the director general and deputy director general, as well as the members of the Council of Administration (CA) and the Postal Operations Council (POC). The supreme body also sets the budget ceiling for the next four years. Finally, the new Acts are adopted as well during the four-yearly Congress.

The Council of Administration

The Council of Administration (CA) consists of 41 member countries and meets twice a year at the UPU’s headquarters in Bern. The CA ensures the continuity of the UPU's work between Congresses, supervises its activities and studies regulatory, administrative, legislative and legal issues. Furthermore, the CA approves the budget and accounts.

The Postal Operations Council

The Postal Operations Council (POC) is the technical and operational body of the UPU and also meets twice a year in the UPU’s headquarters in Bern. It consists of 40 member countries (but as of 2020 there will be 48 member countries), elected during Congress.

The members discuss operational, technical, economic and commercial aspects of the postal activities. The POC’s work programme focusses on the means to help the country’s designated operator modernise and perfect his postal products and services. The POC also makes recommendations to member countries on standards for technological processes and for the processes requiring uniform practices.

The International Bureau

With about 250 employees, the International Bureau fulfils the UPU’s daily secretariat function.

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